Soft wood grafting

• This is very successful technique of in-situ grafting
• It is commonly practiced in mango
• In this method, the seeds of mango are sown at desired distance in the field during rainy season
• To ensure germination, 2-3 seeds are sown in each pit
• When plant becomes one year old and attains pencil thickness, it is used for grafting
• The grafting is done at permanent site of planting in the field itself
• The process of grafting is done during rainy season when new growth appears on rootstock
• When new growth start turning yellow from coppery color grafting is performed
• Scion shoot of length 10-15 cm, 3-5 months age and pencil thickness girth is selected

At 15-20 cm height from ground level, the rootstock is deheaded

• A vertical slit of 2.5 to 4 cm length is given on root stock
• On scion shoot, similar matching cut is prepared in slanting manner on both the surfaces in lower portion
• It is inserted in incision on root stock and wrapped using polythene tape
• In about 3-4 weeks, sprouting starts and graft starts growing
• The grafted plant develops at its intact tap root system and shows better survival in the field